Brown-and-tan uniforms were giving the Durham County Sheriff's Office the blues because of supply issues, and deputies will be stepping out in a new, two-tone gray ensemble with a new shoulder patch starting July 1. McClatchyDurham County Sheriff's Office

Brown-and-tan uniforms were giving the Durham County Sheriff's Office the blues because of supply issues, and deputies will be stepping out in a new, two-tone gray ensemble with a new shoulder patch starting July 1. McClatchyDurham County Sheriff's Office

Durham deputies are going gray in new uniforms next month

Brown-and-tan uniforms were giving the Durham County Sheriff's Office the blues because of supply issues, and deputies will be stepping out in a new, two-tone gray ensemble with a new shoulder patch starting July 1.

Deputies in light-gray shirts over dark-gray trousers and beneath campaign-style brimmed hats will be stepping out of the agency’s patrol cars, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.

On each shoulder, the new shirts will have a patch that shows crossed U.S. and North Carolina flags behind a fine-pointed star and carries the sheriff’s office motto around the sides and bottom: Honor, Duty, Service.

The department’s brown-and-tan garb, in use since the 1970s, required material that was dyed to the right color specifications, and that made it hard to have uniforms in stock to give new deputies and replace worn or damaged ones, spokeswoman Tamara Gibbs said.

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The new gear, Gibbs said, has breathable panels along the sides of the shirts and reflective panels to make nighttime use safer and accommodates the need to pass through wires for radio ear pieces and body cameras.

The new patch, which Gibbs said was designed by Sheriff Mike Andrews and the agency’s command staff, harks back to the sheriff’s office original patches, a statement said.

“A uniform represents the training you have received, and the trust placed in the officer to serve the community,” Andrews said. “Our uniform is a source of pride for those who are allowed to wear it and so many of the great people who have served before us at the Sheriff’s Office.”